Plating apparatus and plating method

ABSTRACT

A plating apparatus employs a dipping method with good gas-bubble releasability and, by regulating the flow of plating solution in a plating tank, can enhance the in-plane uniformity of a thickness of a plated film. The plating apparatus includes a plating tank for holding a plating solution, a plating solution jet nozzle having a slit-like plating solution jet orifice for jetting the plating solution toward a surface to be plated of an object to be plated disposed in the plating tank, and a plating solution supply section for supplying the plating solution to the plating solution jet nozzle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a plating apparatus and a platingmethod for plating a surface (surface to be plated) of a substrate, suchas a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly to a plating apparatusand a plating method useful for forming embedded interconnects byembedding a conductive material (interconnects material), such as copperor silver, in interconnects recesses, such as fine trenches and viaholes, provided in a surface of a semiconductor wafer, or for formingbumps (protruding electrodes), to which package electrodes or the likeare electrically connected, on a surface of a semiconductor wafer.

The plating apparatus and the plating method of the present inventionare also useful for embedding of via holes in the production of aninterposer or a spacer, for example, which has, in its interior, a largenumber of vertically-penetrating via plugs and is used for so-calledthree-dimensional mounting of e.g. a semiconductor chip.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a tape automated bonding (TAB) or flip chip, for example, it has beenwidely conducted to deposit copper, solder, nickel or multi-layeredmaterials thereof at prescribed areas (electrodes) on the surface of asemiconductor chip having interconnects, thereby forming protrudingconnecting electrodes (bumps). Such bumps electrically connect thesemiconductor chip with package electrodes or TAB electrodeselectrically. There are various methods for forming these bumps,including electroplating method, printing method, and ball bump methodThe electroplating method has become in wide use due to its relativelystable performance and capability of forming fine connections, in viewof the recent tendency to increasing number of I/O terminals onsemiconductor chips and to finer pitch.

The electroplating method includes a spurting or cup method in which asubstrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, is positioned horizontallywith a surface (surface to be plated) facing downward and a platingsolution is spurted from below; and a dipping method in which thesubstrate is placed vertically in a plating tank and immersed in aplating solution, while a plating solution is supplied from the bottomof the plating tank and is allowed to overflow the tank. According tothe dipping method of electroplating, bubbles, which can adverselyaffect the quality of the plating, are easily removed and the footprintis small. The dipping method is therefore considered to be suited forbump plating in which holes to be filling by the plating are relativelylarge and which requires a fairly long plating time.

In recent years, instead of using aluminum or aluminum alloys as amaterial for forming interconnects circuits on a semiconductorsubstrate, there is an eminent movement towards using copper (Cu) thathas a low electric resistivity and high electromigration resistance.Copper interconnects are generally formed by filling copper into fineinterconnects recesses provided in a surface of a substrate. Varioustechniques for forming such copper interconnects are known, includingCVD, sputtering, and plating. According to any such techniques, a copperfilm is formed in a substantially entire surface of a substrate,followed by removal of unnecessary copper by performing chemicalmechanical polishing (CMP).

FIG. 1 shows a conventional electroplating apparatus that employs adipping method. The electroplating apparatus 600 includes a plating tank602 for holding therein a plating solution 601, and an overflow tank 604for holding the plating solution that has overflowed the upper end ofthe overflow weir 603 of the plating tank 602. In the plating tank 602,a substrate W, which is held by a substrate holder 605, and an anode606, both immersed in the plating solution 601, are disposed verticallyand opposite to each other at a predetermined distance. Paddles(stirrers) 607 are disposed vertically between the substrate W and theanode 606. The paddles 607 are mounted to a paddle shaft 608. The paddleshaft 608 can be reciprocated parallel to the substrate W so as to stirthe plating solution in the plating tank 602.

The plating solution 601, after filling the plating tank 602, overflowsthe overflow weir 603 and flows into the overflow tank 604, and isdischarged from the overflow tank 604. The plating solution 601 thenpasses through a circulation pump 609, a constant-temperature unit 610and a filter 611, all provided in a circulation line 612, and againflows into the plating tank 602 from its bottom. The plating solution601 circulates in this manner. A plating power source 613 is connectedto the substrate W and the anode 606 to apply a direct-current voltagebetween the substrate W and the anode 606, and pass a plating currentfrom the anode 606 to the substrate W, thereby forming a plated film onthe surface of the substrate W. The plating solution between thesubstrate W and the anode 606 is stirred by the paddles 607 duringplating in order to form a uniform plated film (see, for example,Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-162129).

As described above, in the conventional plating apparatus that employs adipping method, the paddles 607 are reciprocated parallel to thesubstrate W during plating to stir the plating solution between thesubstrate W and the anode 606 in order to form a uniform plated film.However, since the plating solution 601 is supplied from the bottom ofthe plating tank 602 and is caused to overflow the upper end of theoverflow weir 603, a flow of the plating solution 601 is created. Theflow of the plating solution 601 strongly affects the formation of aplated film, which imposes a limitation on the in-plane uniformity ofthe plated film. The same holds also for an electroless platingapparatus.

FIG. 2 shows another conventional electroplating apparatus that employsa dipping method. The electroplating apparatus includes a plating tank312 a for holding therein a plating solution, and a vertically-movablesubstrate holder 314 a for detachably holding a substrate W with itsperipheral portion sealed watertightly and its front surface (surface tobe plated) exposed. In the plating tank 312 a, an anode 324, which isheld by an anode holder 326, is disposed vertically. Further, aregulation plate 328 having a central hole 328 a, composed of adielectric material, is disposed such that when a substrate W, held by asubstrate holder 314 a, is disposed opposite the anode 324, it ispositioned between the anode 324 and the substrate W.

In operation, the anode 324, the substrate W and the regulation plate328 are immersed in the plating solution in the plating tank 312 a whilethe anode 324 is connected via a conducting wire 330 a to the anode of aplating power source 332 and the substrate W is connected via aconducting wire 330 b to the cathode of the plating power source 332.Due to the potential difference between the substrate W and the anode324, metal ions in the plating solution receive electrons from thesurface of the substrate W, whereby the metal deposits on the substrateW and forms a plated film (metal film).

According to this plating apparatus, the regulation plate 328, havingthe central hole 328 a, is disposed between the anode 324 and thesubstrate W, disposed opposite the anode 324, in order to regulate theelectric potential distribution in the plating tank 312 a with theregulation plate 328. This makes it possible to regulate to some extentthe thickness distribution of the plated film formed on the surface ofthe substrate W.

FIG. 3 shows yet another conventional electroplating apparatus thatemploys a dipping method. This electroplating apparatus differs from theembodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that a regulation plate is not provided,but a ring-shaped dummy cathode (dummy electrode) 334 is provided suchthat it surrounds the periphery of a substrate W held by the substrateholder 314 a. Upon plating, the dummy cathode 334 is connected via aconducting wire 330 c to the cathode of the plating power source 332.

According to this plating apparatus, the uniformity of a metal filmformed on the surface of the substrate W can be improved by regulatingthe electric potential of the dummy cathode 334.

FIG. 4 shows yet another conventional electroplating apparatus thatemploys a dipping method. This electroplating apparatus differs from theembodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that a regulation plate is not provided,but a paddle shaft (stirring mechanism) 336, located above the platingtank 312 a, is disposed between the substrate holder 314 a and the anode324 in parallel to them. A plurality of stirring paddles (stirrers) 338is suspended substantially vertically from the lower surface of thepaddle shaft 336. During plating, the paddles 338 are reciprocatedparallel to the substrate W by the paddle shaft 336 so as to stir aplating solution in the plating tank 312 a.

According to this plating apparatus, by reciprocating the paddles 338parallel to the substrate W by the paddle shaft 336, the flow of theplating solution along the surface of the substrate W can be uniformized(directionality of the flow of plating solution eliminated) over theentire surface of the substrate W. This enables the formation of aplated film having a uniform thickness over the entire surface of thesubstrate W.

It has generally been quite difficult with conventional platingapparatuses to securely fill in via holes having a high aspect ratio anda large depth, such as those having a diameter of 10 to 20 μm and adepth of 70 to 150 μm, provided in a substrate, with a metal film byplating while preventing the formation of defects, such as voids, in themetal film.

For example, when filling in via holes having a high aspect ratio of notless than 1 and a large depth with a metal film by plating by using, forexample, the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and carrying out platingwhile strongly stirring a plating solution by the paddles 338, the flowof plating solution will not reach the bottoms of the via holds. Thus,as shown in FIG. 5, when carrying out plating under such conditions on asurface of a barrier layer 344 covering an insulating film 342 in whicha via hole 340 is provided, plating deposition progresses preferentiallyaround the open end of the via hole 340, whereby the open end can beclosed up with a metal film (plated film) 346 and a void 348 can beformed in the metal film 346 embedded in the via hole 340.

On the other hand, there is a demand for an apparatus which itself is ofa simple structure and has an easily-maintained structure or mechanism.The plating apparatus shown in FIG. 3, for example, needs operations foradjustment of the dummy electrode and removal of the plated metal thathas adhered to the dummy electrode. A plating apparatus, which is freefrom such a complication in operation or maintenance and is easier tohandle and maintain, is now in demand.

In carrying out electroplating, the plating rate can be increased byincreasing the current density during plating. Merely increasing thecurrent density, however, could cause plating problems such as burntplating, plating defects, passivation in a surface of an anode, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation inthe related art. It is therefore a first object of the present inventionto provide a plating apparatus and a plating method which employ adipping method with good gas-bubble releasability and which, byregulating the flow of plating solution in a plating tank, can enhancethe in-plane uniformity of a thickness of a plated film.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a platingapparatus and a plating method which, with a relatively simpleconstruction, can securely fill in via holes or the like with a metalfilm without the formation of voids in the embedded metal film even whenthe via holes or the like have a high aspect ratio and a large depth.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides aplating apparatus comprising: a plating tank for holding a platingsolution; a plating solution jet nozzle having a slit-like platingsolution jet orifice for jetting the plating solution toward a surfaceto be plated of an object to be plated disposed in the plating tank; anda plating solution supply section for supplying the plating solution tothe plating solution jet nozzle.

A plated film having a uniform thickness can be formed on a surface tobe plated of an object to be plated by carrying out plating whilejetting a high-velocity plating solution from the plating solution jetorifice of the plating solution jet nozzle toward the surface to beplated. Either a single plating solution jet orifice or a plurality ofplating solution jet orifices, arranged in series, may be provided inthe plating solution jet nozzle.

Preferably, a plurality of the plating solution jet nozzles is disposedin parallel with each other in the plating tank.

By disposing a plurality of plating solution jet nozzles in parallelwith each other, a plated film having a more uniform thickness can beformed on a surface to be plated of an object to be plated.

The plating apparatus may further comprise a flow rate distributionsection for distributing the flow rate of the plating solution to theplurality of plating solution jet nozzles in consideration of the flowconductance of the plating solution.

This makes it possible to regulate, according to the plating situation,the flow rate of the plating solution jetted from the plating solutionjet orifice of each plating solution jet nozzle, thus enabling theoptimal plating.

Preferably, the plating solution jet nozzle is moved parallel to thesurface to be plated of the object to be plated.

A plated film having a more uniform thickness can be formed on thesurface to be plated of a object to be plated by carrying out platingwhile moving the plating solution jet nozzle parallel to the surface tobe plated.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the platingapparatus further comprises a flow rate control section for controllingthe flow rate of the plating solution jetted from the plating solutionjet orifice, and the plating solution jet orifice has a width of 0.05 to1.0 mm.

According to this embodiment, a high-velocity plating solution, in theform a thin belt having a thickness of 0.05 to 1.0 mm, can be jettedfrom the plating solution jet orifice toward the surface to be plated ofa object to be plated to form a plated film having a uniform thicknesson the surface to be plated.

The velocity of the plating solution, jetted from the plating solutionjet orifice of the plating solution jet nozzle, preferably is 5 to 20m/sec in the vicinity of the plating solution jet orifice.

A plated film having a uniform thickness can be formed on the surface tobe plated of the object to be plated also by thus regulating the flowvelocity of the plating solution.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the platingapparatus further comprises a flow rate monitor section for monitoringthe flow rate of the plating solution jetted from the plating solutionjet orifice and/or a pressure monitor section for monitoring thepressure in the plating solution jet nozzle.

This makes it possible to regulate the flow rate of the plating solutionand/or the pressure in the plating solution jet nozzle according to theplating situation, enabling the optimal plating.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the platingapparatus further comprises a flow rate sensor for detecting the flowrate of the plating solution jetted from the plating solution jetorifice and/or a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure in theplating solution jet nozzle, and a plating solution flow rate regulationsection for regulating the flow rate of the plating solution by feedingback a detection signal of the flow rate sensor and/or the pressuresensor to the plating solution supply section.

The flow rate of the plating solution can thus be regulated according tothe plating situation, so that the optimal plating can be effected.

The distance between the front end of the plating solution jet orificeand the object to be plated is preferably 1 to 30 mm.

This enables the plating solution jetted from the plating solution jetorifice to easily reach, without turbulence, the surface to be plated ofa object to be plated, thereby forming a plated film having a uniformthickness on the surface to be plated.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the platingapparatus further comprises an anode disposed between the platingsolution jet nozzle and the object to be plated.

Thus, an electroplating apparatus is constructed.

The anode may be disposed within the plating solution jet nozzle.

This eliminates the need to separately provide an anode in the platingtank and thus can provide a simplified smaller-sized electroplatingapparatus.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plating solutionsupply section includes a pump for feeding out the plating solutiondischarged from the plating tank, and a plating solution supply pipeconnecting the pump with the plating solution jet nozzle, and at leastpart of the plating solution supply pipe is formed of a flexiblematerial so that it can follow a movement of the plating solution jetnozzle.

This makes it possible, with a simple construction, to supply theplating solution to the plating solution jet nozzle while allowing theplating solution supply pipe to follow a movement of the platingsolution jet nozzle.

The present invention provides a plating method comprising: disposing anobject to be plated and a plating solution jet nozzle having a slit-likeplating solution jet orifice opposite to each other in a platingsolution in a plating tank; and jetting the plating solution from theplating solution jet orifice while moving the plating solution jetnozzle parallel to a surface to be plated of the object to be plated.

The present invention provides another plating apparatus comprising: aplating tank for holding a plating solution; a holder for holding anobject to be plated, feeding electricity to the object to be plated, andbringing a surface to be plated of the object to be plated into contactwith the plating solution in the plating tank; an anode disposed in theplating solution in the plating tank; a plating solution stirringsection, disposed between the anode and the object to be plated held bythe holder, for stirring the plating solution in the plating tank; and aplating power source for periodically applying a voltage between theobject to be plated and the anode; wherein the plating solution isstirred by the plating solution stirring section when no voltage isapplied between the object to be plated and the anode, whereas thestirring of the plating solution by the plating solution stirringsection is stopped when the voltage is applied between the object to beplated and the anode.

By stirring the plating solution by the plating solution stirringsection in the non-plating time when no voltage is applied between theobject to be plated and the anode, the plating solution in via holes orthe like can be replaced with a fresh plating solution. By stopping thestirring of the plating solution in the plating time when a voltage isapplied between the object to be plated and the anode, on the otherhand, plating can be carried out without supply of a fresh platingsolution to via holes or the like. This can prevent a metal film (platedfilm) from being deposited preferentially at the open ends of via holesor the like and can fill in the via holes or the like with a void-freemetal film.

Preferably, the plating solution stirring section is comprised of apaddle which reciprocates parallel to the surface to be plated of theobject to be plated held by the holder.

The plating solution between the object to be plated and the anode canbe stirred by reciprocating the paddle, whereas the stirring of theplating solution between the object to be plated and the anode can bestopped by stopping the movement of the paddle.

Alternatively, the plating solution stirring section may be comprised ofa plating solution jet nozzle for jetting the plating solution towardthe surface to be plated of the object to be plated held by the holder.

The plating solution between the object to be plated and the anode canbe stirred by jetting the plating solution from the plating solution jetnozzle toward the surface to be plated of the object to be plated,whereas the stirring of the plating solution between the object to beplated and the anode can be stopped by stopping the jetting of theplating solution from the plating solution jet nozzle.

The plating solution jet nozzle may be provided integrally with thepaddle so that it moves together with the paddle, or disposed fixedly inthe plating tank.

Preferably, the voltage is applied between the object to be plated andthe anode so that the current density becomes 0.1 to 0.8 A/dm².

It has been confirmed experimentally that plating at such a low currentdensity attains good embedding property of plated film.

The present invention provides another plating method comprising:disposing an object to be plated and an anode opposite to each other ina plating solution in a plating tank; periodically applying a voltagebetween the object to be plated and the anode; and stirring the platingsolution between the object to be plated and the anode when no voltageis applied between the object to be plated and the anode, and stoppingthe stirring of the plating solution between the object to be plated andthe anode when the voltage is applied between the object to be platedand the anode.

Preferably, the plating solution is stirred by reciprocating a paddle,disposed between the object to be plated and the anode, parallel to theobject to be plated, and the stirring of the plating solution is stoppedby stopping the movement of the paddle.

Alternatively, the plating solution is stirred by jetting the platingsolution from a plating solution jet nozzle, disposed between the objectto be plated and the anode, toward the object to be plated, and thestirring of the plating solution is stopped by stopping the jetting ofthe plating solution from the plating solution jet nozzle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a conventional platingapparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of another conventional platingapparatus;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of yet another conventionalplating apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of yet another conventionalplating apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating embedding of a metal film by plating ascarried out by a conventional plating apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a plating apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a substrate holder, ananode and plating solution jet nozzles in the plating apparatus shown inFIG. 6:

FIG. 8A is a plan view of a plating solution jet nozzle, FIG. 8B is afront view of the plating solution jet nozzle, and FIG. 8C is across-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 8B;

FIG. 9A is a plan view of another plating solution jet nozzle, and FIG.9B is a front view of the plating solution jet nozzle;

FIG. 10A is a plan view of yet another plating solution jet nozzle, FIG.10B is a front view of the plating solution jet nozzle, and FIG. 10C isa cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 10B;

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the arrangement of substrate holders andplating solution jet nozzles in a plating apparatus according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an overall plan view of a substrate processing apparatusincorporating a plating apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the flow of air in the substrateprocessing apparatus shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is an overall plan view of an interconnects-forming apparatusincorporating a plating apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of the interconnects-forming apparatus of FIG.14;

FIGS. 16A and 16B are diagrams illustrating the process of the formationof interconnects in a substrate;

FIG. 17 is an overall plan view of a semiconductor manufacturingapparatus incorporating a plating apparatus according to the presentinvention;

FIGS. 18A through 18C are diagrams illustrating, in a sequence ofprocess steps, a process for forming interconnects in a semiconductordevice;

FIG. 19 is an overall plan view of a substrate processing apparatusincorporating a plating apparatus according to the present invention;

FIGS. 20A through 20E are diagrams illustrating, in a sequence ofprocess steps, a process for forming bumps;

FIG. 21 is an overall plan view of a plating processing facilityincorporating a plating apparatus according to yet another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a transport robot provided in aplating space of the plating processing facility shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a schematic sectional view of the plating apparatus providedin the plating processing facility shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating piping around a plating tank of theplating apparatus shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 25 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a substrate, paddles,a regulation plate and an anode in the plating apparatus shown in FIG.21;

FIG. 26 is a graph illustrating a voltage applied between the anode andthe substrate in the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 21;

FIGS. 27A through 27D are diagrams illustrating, in a sequence ofprocess steps, a process for producing an interposer or a spacer havingvertically-penetrating via plugs of copper therein; and

FIG. 28 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a plating apparatusaccording to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the drawings. The following description illustratesthe case of using a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, as anobject to be plated.

FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a plating apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is aplan view showing the arrangement of a substrate holder, an anode andplating solution jet nozzles in a plating tank. The plating apparatus 10is an electroplating apparatus, and includes a plating tank 11 forholding therein a plating solution Q, and an overflow tank 13 forholding the plating solution Q that has overflowed the upper end of theoverflow weir 12 of the plating tank 11. In the plating tank 11, asubstrate W, which is held by a substrate holder 14, and an anode 15,both immersed in the plating solution Q, are disposed vertically andopposite to each other at a predetermined distance. Plating solution jetnozzles 16, for jetting the plating solution Q, are disposed verticallybetween the substrate W and the anode 15. The distance between the frontend of each plating solution jet nozzle 16 and the surface of thesubstrate W is, for example, 1 to 30 mm.

The plating apparatus 10 is provided with a plurality (e.g. two) of theplating solution jet nozzles 16 whose upper ends are fixed to a shaft 17at predetermined intervals. A rack 18 is provided on the lower surfaceof the shaft 17. By rotating a pinion 19, engaging with the rack 18, inopposite directions by a motor 20, the shaft 17 reciprocates in thedirection of arrow A and the plating solution jet nozzles 16 alsoreciprocate in the same direction.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of the plating solution jet nozzle 16, FIG. 18Bis a front view of the plating solution jet nozzle 16, and FIG. 8C is across-sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 8B. The platingsolution jet nozzle 16 is long, has a generally-rectangular crosssection with a raised portion 16 b in one side, and centrally has aplating solution supply hole 16 a extending in the length direction. Aplurality of slit-like plating solution jet orifices 16 c, arranged inseries and communicating with the plating solution supply hole 16 a, isformed at the top of the raised portion 16 b. By supplying the platingsolution to the plating solution supply hole 16 a at a predeterminedpressure, the plating solution in the form of a belt (flat plate),corresponding to the shape of the plating solution jet orifices 16 c, isjetted from the plating solution jet orifices 16 c.

Each plating solution jet nozzle 16 is connected to a branch pipe(plating solution supply pipe) 22 branching off from a flow ratemanifold 21, as a flow rate distribution section, for distributing theflow rate of plating solution, and the flow rate manifold (flow ratedistribution section) 21 is in turn connected to a flow rate/pressuremeter 24 via a flexible pipe (plating solution supply pipe) 23. The flowrate/pressure meter 24 is connected via piping 26 a to the dischargeopening of a pump 25, and the suction opening of the pump 25 isconnected via piping 26 b to the plating solution discharge outlet ofthe overflow tank 13. By the pump 25, the plating solution Q dischargedinto the overflow tank 13 is supplied through the piping 26 a, thepiping 26 b, the flow rate/pressure meter 24, the flexible pipe 23, theflow rate manifold 21 and the branch pipe 22 into each plating solutionjet nozzle 16, and is jetted from the slit-like plating solution jetorifices 16 of the plating solution jet nozzle 16 c toward the substrateW. The plating solution Q, after filling the plating tank 11, overflowsthe upper end of the overflow wire 12 and flows into the overflow tank13.

By connecting the substrate W held by the substrate holder 14 and theanode 15 to a direct-current plating power source 27, and applying apredetermined direct-correct voltage from the plating power source 27 tobetween the substrate W and the anode 15, a plating current flows fromthe anode 15 to the substrate W, and a plated film is formed on thesurface of the substrate W. During the plating processing of thesubstrate W, each plating solution jet nozzle 16, mounted to the shaft17, jets the plating solution from the plating solution jet orifices 16c toward the surface of the substrate W while reciprocating parallel tothe substrate W with a predetermined stroke by a nozzle movementmechanism consisting of the rack 18, the pinion 19 and the motor 20.Each plating solution jet nozzle 16 thus performs the function ofuniformly supplying the plating solution to the surface (surface to beplated) of the substrate W and the function of supplying the platingsolution Q into the plating tank 11.

The jet velocities of plating solutions q1, q2, q3 . . . jetted from theplating solution jet orifices 16 c of the plating solution jet nozzle 16are determined by the flow rate and the pressure of the plating solutionQ supplied from the pump 25 to the flow rate manifold 21. Accordingly,the jet velocities and the flow rates of plating solution q1, q2, q3 . .. jetted from the plating solution jet orifices 16 c of the platingsolution jet nozzle 16 can be controlled by feeding back the flow rateand the pressure detected by the flow rate/pressure meter 24 to the pump25. The flow rate manifold 21 distributes the flow rate of platingsolution to the plating solution jet nozzles 16 in consideration of theflow conductance of the plating solution Q.

The flexible pipe 23 has such a length that the shaft 17, or the platingsolution jet nozzles 16 can reciprocate with a predetermined strokesafely without trouble and the flexible pipe 23 can smoothly follow themovement of the plating solution jet nozzles 16. Though in thisembodiment the combination of the rack 18 and the pinion 19 is employedas a nozzle movement mechanism for reciprocating the shaft 17, thepresent invention is not limited to such nozzle movement mechanism. Anydrive mechanism, such as a nozzle movement mechanism comprised of a rackand a worm, a drive mechanism comprised of a linear slider, etc., whichallows the shaft 17 to reciprocate with a predetermined stroke, can beemployed.

The plating solution jet nozzle 16 is not limited to the one shown inFIGS. 8A through 8C, having the plurality of slit-like plating solutionjet orifices 16 c arranged in series, but may be one as shown in FIGS.9A and 9B, having a single long slit-like plating solution jet orifice16 d. FIG. 9A is a plan view of the plating solution jet nozzle 16having the single long slit-like plating solution jet orifice 16 d, andFIG. 9B is a front view of the plating solution jet nozzle 16 having thesingle long slit-like plating solution jet orifice 16 d. The slit widthof the slit-like plating solution jet orifice 16 c or 16 d is, forexample, 0.05 to 1.0 mm. Though in this embodiment the plating solutionjet nozzle 16 has a generally-rectangular cross section, a platingsolution jet nozzle having any cross-sectional shape may be employedinsofar as the plating solution jet nozzle has slit-like platingsolution jet orifices arranged in series or a single slit-like platingsolution jet orifice and can jet a belt-like (flat plate-like) platingsolution from the plating solution jet orifice(s).

A monitor section (not shown) may be provided which, based on the flowrate and the pressure of the plating solution detected by the flowrate/pressure meter 24, calculates and monitors at least one of the flowrate of the plating solution jetted from the plating solution jetorifices 16 c or the orifice 16 d of each plating solution jet nozzle 16and the pressure in each plating solution jet nozzle 16. By continuallymonitoring at least one of the jet flow rate of the plating solution andthe pressure in the plating solution jet nozzle 16 with the monitorsection, it becomes possible to maintain the optimum plating conditions.

Using the plating apparatus 10 having the above construction, platingwas carried out on a substrate W, having openings (holes) with adiameter of 100 μm and a depth of 50-200 μm, and having a copper seedfilm (without a resist) formed-over the entire surface, under thefollowing conditions. As a result, the openings were filled in with theplating without the formation of voids.

Nozzle Installation Conditions

-   -   Number of plating solution jet nozzles 16: 2    -   Distance between plating solution jet nozzles 16, 16: 100 mm    -   Frequency of reciprocation of plating solution jet nozzles 16:        30 rpm    -   Distance between the front ends of plating solution jet nozzles        16 and the substrate W: 10 mm    -   Flow rate of plating solution at the front end of slit-like        plating solution jet orifice: 10 m/sec        Composition of Plating Solution    -   CuSO₄.5H₂O (inorganic component): 150-250 g/L    -   H₂SO₄: 5-100 g/L    -   Cl: 30-60 ppm    -   Polymer (organic component): PPG 500 ppm    -   Carrier (organic component): SPS 5 ppm    -   Leveler (organic component): polyethyleneimine 1 ppm        Plating Conditions    -   Plating current density: DC 5 mA/cm²    -   Plating time: 1-10 hrs

For comparison, using a conventional plating apparatus, plating wascarried out on a substrate, having a copper seed layer formed over theentire surface and having openings (holes) with a diameter of 10 μm anda depth of 50 μm, by passing an electric current from a plating powersource at a current density of DC 5 mA/cm². As a result, the openingswere not fully filled in with the plating: voids were formed at thebottoms of the openings.

FIG. 10A is a plan view showing yet another plating solution jet nozzlefor use in a plating apparatus according to the present invention, FIG.10B is a front view of this plating solution jet nozzle, and FIG. 10C isa cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 10B. The platingsolution jet nozzle 16 has a single slit-like plating solution jetorifice 16 d communicating with a plating solution supply hole 16 a andthus is constructionally the same in this regard as the plating solutionjet nozzle 16 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, but has a bar-like anode 28centrally in the plating solution supply hole 16 a. The anode 28 is thusprovided integrally with the plating solution jet nozzle 16, and hencethere is no need to separately dispose an anode, opposite to asubstrate, in the plating tank 11. When the plating solution jet nozzle16 is moved parallel to a substrate W, the anode 28 also movesconcomitantly. Though not shown diagrammatically, it is also possible toprovide the bar-like anode 28 in the plating solution supply hole 16 aof the plating solution jet nozzle 16 shown in FIGS. 8A through 8C,having the plurality of slit-like plating solution jet orifices 16 c.

FIG. 11 is a plan view schematically showing the internal constructionof the plating tank 11 of a plating apparatus which uses the platingsolution jet nozzle 16 shown in FIGS. 10A through 10C, i.e. a layoutplan of a substrate holder and the plating solution jet nozzle. Twosubstrates W, each held by one of two substrate holders 14, are disposedat a predetermined distance from each other in the plating solution Q inthe plating tank 11. Between the substrates W, disposed opposite to eachother, is disposed a nozzle movement mechanism 32 which includes anozzle supporting belt 31 which is supported by sprockets 29, 30 androtationally moves parallel to the substrates W. The plating solutionjet nozzles 16, each having the construction shown in FIGS. 10A through10C, are mounted at predetermined intervals to the nozzle supportingbelt 31 of the nozzle movement mechanism 32. By thus disposing twosubstrates W at a predetermined distance from each other in the platingsolution Q in the plating tank 11 (depiction omitted in FIG. 11), andmoving the nozzle supporting belt 31 while jetting the plating solutionQ from the plating solution jet nozzles 16 toward the two substrates W,a plated film having a uniform thickness can be formed on the surface ofeach substrate W.

Instead of rotationally moving the nozzle supporting belt 31 of thenozzle movement mechanism 32 in one direction, it is also possible toreciprocate the plating solution jet nozzles 16 with a predeterminedmoving distance (stroke) by rotating the sprockets 29, 30 in oppositedirections. This enables supply of the plating solution to each platingsolution jet nozzle 16 to be dealt with by the use of a flexible platingsolution supply pipe, and also enables electrical connection from aplating power source to the anode 28 to be dealt with by the use of aflexible feeding cable, thus simplifying the apparatus construction.

FIG. 12 is a layout plan view of a substrate processing apparatusincorporating the plating apparatus having the construction shown inFIGS. 6 and 7. The substrate processing apparatus comprisesloading/unloading sections 40, each pair of cleaning/drying sections 41,first substrate stages 42, bevel-etching/chemical cleaning sections 43and second substrate stages 44, a water-washing section 45 provided witha mechanism for reversing the substrate through 180°, and four platingsections (plating apparatuses) 46. The substrate processing apparatus isalso provided with a first transport device 48 for transferring asubstrate between the loading/unloading sections 40, the cleaning/dryingsections 41 and the first substrate stages 42, a second transport device49 for transferring a substrate between the first substrate stages 42,the bevel-etching/chemical cleaning sections 43 and the second substratestages 44, and a third transport device 50 for transferring thesubstrate between the second substrate stages 44, the water-washingsection 45 and the plating section 46.

The substrate processing apparatus has a partition wall 51 for dividingthe substrate processing apparatus into a plating space 53 and a cleanspace 52. Air can individually be supplied into and exhausted from eachof the plating space 53 and the clean space 52. The partition wall 51has a shutter (not shown) capable of opening and closing. The pressureof the clean space 52 is lower than the atmospheric pressure and higherthan the pressure of the plating space 53. This can prevent the air inthe clean space 52 from flowing out of the plating apparatus and canprevent the air in the plating space 53 from flowing into the cleanspace 52.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing an air current in the substrateprocessing apparatus. In the clean space 52, a fresh external air isintroduced through a pipe 54 and pushed into the clean space 52 througha high-performance filter 55 by a fan. Hence, a down-flow clean air issupplied from a ceiling 56 a to positions around the cleaning/dryingsections 41 and the bevel-etching/chemical cleaning sections 43. A largepart of the supplied clean air is returned from a floor 56 b through acirculation pipe 57 to the ceiling 56 a, and pushed again into the cleanspace 52 through the high-performance filter 55 by the fan, to thuscirculate in the clean space 52. A part of the air is discharged fromthe cleaning/drying sections 41 and the bevel-etching/chemical cleaningsections 43 through a pipe 48 to the exterior, so that the pressure ofthe clean space 52 is set to be lower than the atmospheric pressure.

The plating space 53 having the water-washing sections 45 and theplating sections 46 therein is not a clean space (but a contaminationzone). However, it is not acceptable to attach particles to the surfaceof the substrate W. Therefore, in the plating space 53, a fresh externalair is introduced through a pipe 59, and a down-flow clean air is pushedinto the plating space 53 through a high-performance filter 60 by a fan,for thereby preventing particles from being attached to the surface ofthe substrate W. However, if the whole flow rate of the down-flow cleanair is supplied by only an external air supply and exhaust, thenenormous air supply and exhaust are required. Therefore, the air isdischarged through a duct 62 to the exterior, and a large part of thedown-flow is supplied by a circulating air through a circulation pipe 63extended from a floor 61 b, in such a state that the pressure of theplating space 53 is maintained to be lower than the pressure of theclean space 52.

Thus, the air returned to a ceiling 61 a through the circulation pipe 63is pushed again into the plating space 53 through the high-performancefilter 60 by the fan. Hence, a clean air is supplied into the platingspace 53 to thus circulate in the plating space 53. In this case, aircontaining chemical mist or gas emitted from the water-washing sections45, the plating sections 46, the third transport device 50, and aplating solution regulating tank 64 is discharged through the duct 62 tothe exterior. Thus, the pressure of the plating space 53 is controlledso as to be lower than the pressure of the clean space 52. When theshutters (not shown) are opened, therefore, air flows successivelythrough the loading/unloading sections 40, the clean space 52, and theplating space 53. Air discharged from the clean space 52 and the platingspace 53 flows through the ducts 62, 58 to the exterior.

FIG. 14 shows a layout plan view of an interconnects-forming apparatusincorporating the above-described plating apparatus and an electrolyticetching apparatus. The interconnects-forming apparatus comprises pairsof loading/unloading sections 70, cleaning/drying sections 71, temporarystorage sections 72, plating sections (electroplating apparatuses) 73,water-washing sections 74 and etching sections 75, a first transportmechanism 76 for transferring a substrate W between it and theloading/unloading sections 70, the cleaning/drying section 71 and thetemporary storage sections 72, and a second transport mechanism 77 fortransferring the substrate W between it and the temporary storagesections 72, the plating sections 73, the water-washing sections 74 andthe etching sections 75. The plating apparatus 10 having theconstruction shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is disposed in each plating section73.

Interconnects-forming processing by the interconnects-forming apparatuswill now be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. First,substrates W having a surface seed layer are taken one by one by thefirst transport mechanism 76 out of the loading/unloading section 70,and the substrate W is carried in the plating section 73 via thetemporary storage section 72 (step ST1).

Next, plating is carried out in the plating section 73 to form a copperlayer 7 on the surface of the substrate W, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B(step ST2). Taking as the first priority a reduction of recesses 7 aformed in the copper layer 7 due to the presence of large holes, aplating solution having an excellent leveling property, for example, onehaving such a high concentration of copper sulfate as 100 to 300 g/L andsuch a low concentration of sulfuric acid as 10 to 100 g/L, andcontaining an additive for enhancing the leveling property, such as apolyalkyleneimine, a quaternary ammonium salt or a cationic dye, is usedin the plating. The term “leveling property” herein refers to a propertyof promoting bottom-up growth of plating in holes.

By thus carrying out plating of the surface of the substrate W by usinga plating solution having an excellent leveling property, the bottom-upgrowth of plating in large holes can be promoted, resulting in theformation of copper layer 7 having a larger thickness t₂ in a large-holearea than the thickness t₁ of a flat area, as shown in FIG. 16B. Thus,large holes can be filled in with a plated film having the smallthickness t₁. The substrate W after the plating processing istransported to the water-washing section 74 to water-wash the substrateW, as necessary (step ST3). The substrate W after water-washing is thentransported to the etching section 75.

Next, electrolytic etching of the surface (plated surface) of thesubstrate W is carried out in the etching section 75 to etch the surfacecopper layer 7 of the substrate W (step ST4) In the etching, an etchingsolution is used containing an additive which acts as an etchingpromoter, such as pyrophosphoric acid, ethylenediamine, aminocarboxylicacid, EDTA, DTPA, iminodiacetic acid, TETA, or NTA, an additive whichacts as an etching inhibitor, such as a copper complex with a quaternaryammonium salt or a polymer, or an organic complex or its derivative, oran additive which makes the copper corrosion potential base, such asthiourea or its derivative. An acid such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloricacid, an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide or anaqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide, or analkali such as an aqueous solution of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, maybe used as abase bath, though not limited thereto.

Raised portions of the copper layer 7 can be selectively etched by theelectrolytic etching, thereby enhancing the flatness of the copper film7. The electrolytic etching enables a later CMP processing to be carriedout in a short time without resorting to a high polishing rate, and thuswithout suffering from dishing. Next, the substrate W after the etchingprocessing is transported to the water-washing section 74 to water-washthe substrate W, as necessary (step ST5). The substrate W afterwater-washing is transported to the cleaning/drying section 71, wherethe substrate W is cleaned and dried (step ST6). Thereafter, thesubstrate W is returned by the first transport mechanism 76 to thecassette of loading/unloading section 70 (step ST7).

It is possible to repeatedly carry out plating and etching several timesto selectively etch raised portions of the copper film (copper layer 7)after each plating processing, thereby further enhancing the flatness ofthe copper film. Though in this embodiment the plating processing andthe etching processing are carried out successively in the sameinterconnects-forming apparatus, it is also possible to carry out thetwo processings separately by independent apparatuses.

In this embodiment, the electroplating apparatus and the electrolyticetching apparatus used have the same construction, but use differentelectrolytic solutions and apply voltages of opposite polarities betweena substrate W and an electrode (anode or cathode). It is also possibleto use only a electroplating apparatus and employ the electroplatingapparatus also as an electrolytic etching apparatus by changing thepolarity of the voltage applied between a substrate W and the anode 15(see FIG. 2), i.e., making the substrate W serve as an anode and theanode 15 serve as a cathode.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the overall construction of asemiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the above-describedelectroplating apparatus. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatusincludes, at one end of the space on a rectangular floor, a firstpolishing unit 80 a and a second polishing unit 80 b disposed side byside and, at the other side, a loading/unloading section 82 for placingthereon substrate cassettes 81 a, 81 b each housing substrates W, suchas semiconductor wafers. Two transport robots 83 a, 83 b are disposed ona line connecting the polishing units 80 a, 80 b and theloading/unloading section 82.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus also includes, on one side ofthe transport line, a first plating unit (electroplating apparatus) 84for embedding of copper, a film thickness detection unit 85 providedwith a reversing machine and a pre-processing unit 86 provided with areversing machine and, on the other side, a rinsing/drying device 87, asecond plating unit (electroless plating apparatus) 88 for forming aprotective film and a cleaning unit 89 provided with a roll sponge. Onthe transport line sides of the polishing units 80 a, 80 b are providedvertically-movable pushers 90, 90 for transferring the substrate Wbetween them and the polishing units 80 a, 80 b.

A process for forming interconnects of a semiconductor device by theabove semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will now be described withreference to FIGS. 18A through 18C. A substrate W, as shown in FIG. 18A,is provided which has been prepared by depositing an insulating film 2of, for example, SiO₂ on a conductive layer 1 a, in which semiconductordevices are formed, on a semiconductor base 1, forming via holes 3 andtrenches 4 in the insulating film 2 by, for example, thelithography/etching technique, and then forming a barrier layer 5 of Ta,TaN, or the like and a seed layer 6, which serves as an electric supplylayer in electroplating, in this order over the entire surface by, forexample, sputtering.

Such substrates W having the surface seed layer 6 are taken one by oneby the transport robot 83 a out of the substrate cassettes 81 a, 81 b,and the substrate W is carried in the first plating unit 84. In thefirst plating unit 84, a copper layer 7 is deposited on the surface ofthe substrate W, thereby filling in the via holes 3 and the trenches 4with copper, as shown in FIG. 18B. The formation of copper layer 7 bycopper plating is carried out after subjecting the substrate W to atreatment for making the surface hydrophilic. After the plating, asdescribed previously, it is possible to carry out etching of the surfaceof the copper layer 7 by using the first plating unit 84 as anelectrolytic etching apparatus by changing the polarity of the voltageapplied. After the formation of copper layer 7, the substrate W isrinsed or cleaned in the first plating unit 84 and, if time permits, maybe dried.

The copper-embedded substrate W is transported to the film thicknessdetection unit 85, where the thickness of the copper layer 7 is measuredand, if necessary, the substrate W is reversed by the reversing machine.Thereafter, the substrate W is transported by the transport robot 83 bonto the pusher 90 of the polishing unit 80 a or 80 b.

In the polishing unit 80 a or 80 b, polishing of the substrate W iscarried out by pressing the polishing surface of the substrate W againsta polishing table while supplying an abrasive liquid to the polishingsurface. The polishing is terminated, for example, when the end point isdetected by a monitor for detecting the finish of the substrate W. Thesubstrate W after the polishing is returned onto the pusher 90, andcleaned by pure water-spraying. The substrate W is then transported bythe transport robot 83 b to the cleaning unit 89, where the substrate Wis cleaned e.g. with a roll sponge. Interconnects 8, as shown in FIG.18C, consisting of the seed layer 6 and the copper layer 7, are thusformed in the insulating film 2.

Next, the substrate W is transported to the pre-processing unit 86,where the substrate W is subjected to pre-processing, such asapplication of a Pd catalyst, removal of an oxide film from the exposedsurfaces of interconnects, etc. Thereafter, the substrate W istransported to the second plating unit (electroless plating apparatus)88. In the second plating unit 88, electroless COWP plating, forexample, is carried out on the surfaces of interconnects 8 exposed afterpolishing to thereby form a protective film (plated film) 9 of a COWPalloy selectively on the exposed surfaces of interconnects 8 to protectthe interconnects 8, as shown in FIG. 18C. The thickness of theprotective film 9 is about 0.5 to 500 nm, preferably about 1 to 200 nm,more preferably about 10 to 100 nm.

FIG. 19 shows a layout plan view of another substrate processingapparatus for forming, for example, bumps. As shown in FIG. 19, thesubstrate processing apparatus includes two cassette tables 430 eachsetting a cassette housing substrates such as semiconductor wafers, analigner 431 for aligning an orientation flat or a notch of a substrate Win a predetermined direction, and a rinse drier 432 for rinsing thesubstrate W after plating and drying the substrate W by rotating it at ahigh speed. Among the two cassette tables 430, the aligner 431 and therinse drier 432 is disposed a movable first transport robot 433 fortransferring the substrate W therebetween. The first transport robot 433has a hand of, for example, the vacuum attraction type or the drop-intype, and transfers the substrate W in the horizontal position.

The substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment also includes fourplating units 434 disposed in series. Each plating unit 434 includes aplating tank 435 and a water-washing tank 436 disposed adjacent to eachother. Above the plating tank 435 and the water-washing tank 436, asubstrate holder 437 for detachably holding the substrate W in thevertical position is disposed vertically movably by a vertical movementmechanism section 438 and laterally movably by a lateral movementmechanism section 444. In front of the plating units 434 is disposed amovable second transport robot 439 for transferring the substrate Wbetween the aligner 431, the rinse drier 432 and the substrate holder437 of each plating unit 434. The second transport robot 439 has a handwhich holds the substrate W by, for example, mechanical chucking andwhich is provided with a reversing mechanism 440 for 90°-reversing thesubstrate W between the horizontal position and the vertical position,and transfers the substrate W in the horizontal position between it andthe aligner 431 or the rinse drier 432 and in the vertical positionbetween it and the substrate holder 437.

In each plating tank 435, an anode 441 is disposed in such a positionthat when the substrate W held by the substrate holder 437 is disposedin a predetermined position in the plating tank 435, the anode 441 facesthe front surface of the substrate W. Further, between the substrate Wand the anode 441 are disposed plating solution jet nozzles 443 whichare mounted to a shaft 445 that reciprocates by the actuation of anozzle movement mechanism 442. A plating solution is jetted from theplating solution jet nozzles 443 toward the substrate W. The platingapparatus, including the plating tank 435, the anode 441 and the platingsolution jet nozzles 443, has the same construction as the platingapparatus shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

A series of plating processings for the formation of bumps by thesubstrate processing apparatus having the above construction will now bedescribed. First, a substrate W, as shown in FIG. 20A, is provided whichhas been prepared by forming a seed layer 420 as an electric supplylayer on a surface, coating an entire surface of the seed layer 420 witha resist 421 having a thickness H of e.g. 20 to 120 μm, and formingopenings 421 a having a diameter of e.g. about 20 to 200 μm atpredetermined positions in the resist 421. Such substrates W are housedin a cassette with their front surfaces (surfaces to be plated) upward,and the cassette is mounted on the cassette table 430.

One substrate W is taken by the first transport robot 433 out of thecassette mounted on the cassette table 430, and the substrate W isplaced on the aligner 431 to align an orientation flat or a notch in apredetermined direction. The thus-oriented substrate W by the aligner431 is taken by the second transport robot 439 out of the aligner 431and is 90′-reversed from the horizontal position to the verticalposition by the reversing mechanism 440, and the reversed substrate W isthen transferred to the substrate holder 437 of one of the plating units434.

In this embodiment, transfer of the substrate W is carried out above thewater-washing tank 436. Thus, the substrate holder 437 has been raisedby the vertical movement mechanism section 438 and moved to a positionabove the water-washing tank 436 by the lateral movement mechanismsection 444 when it receives the substrate W from the second transportrobot 439 and holds the substrate W in the vertical position.

The substrate holder 437 holding the substrate W in the verticalposition is moved to the plating tank 435 side by the lateral movementmechanism section 444. The plating tank 435, on the other hand, isfilled with a plating solution. The substrate holder 437 holding thesubstrate W is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism section 438 toimmerse the substrate W held by the substrate holder 437 in the platingsolution in the plating tank 435. A plating voltage is applied betweenthe anode 441 and the substrate W, and the plating solution is jettedfrom the plating solution jet nozzles 443 toward the substrate W whilereciprocating the plating solution jet nozzles 443 parallel to thesurface of the substrate W by the nozzle movement mechanism 442, therebycarrying out plating of the surface of the substrate W. After thecompletion of plating, the application of the plating voltage, thejetting of the plating solution and the reciprocation of the platingsolution jet nozzles 443 are stopped, and the substrate holder 437holding the substrate W after plating is raised and pulled up from theplating tank 435 by the vertical movement mechanism section 438.

After the plating processing, the substrate holder 437 holding thesubstrate W in the vertical position is moved to the water-washing tank436 side by the lateral movement mechanism section 444. The substrateholder 437 holding the substrate W is lowered into the water-washingtank 436 by the vertical movement mechanism section 438 and, whilepulling up the substrate holder 437, pure water is jetted from jetnozzles (not shown) toward the substrate holder 437 to clean off theplating solution remaining on the substrate W and the substrate holder437. Alternatively, the water-washing tank 436 is filled with pure waterin advance, and the substrate holder 437 holding the substrate W isimmersed in the pure water. The pure water in the water-washing tank 436is then withdrawn rapidly to thereby clean off the plating solutionremaining on the substrate W and the substrate holder 437. It is, ofcourse, possible to use the two water-washing methods in combination.

The second transport robot 439 receives the substrate W in the verticalposition from the substrate holder 437 above the water-washing tank 436,90′-reverses the substrate W from the vertical position to thehorizontal position, and transports the reversed substrate W to therinse drier 432, where the substrate W is rinsed and spin-dried(water-drained) by high-speed rotating of the substrate. Thereafter, thesubstrate W is returned to the cassette mounted on the cassette table430, thereby completing the series of operations. The substrate W inwhich a plated film 422 has been grown in the openings 421 a provided inthe resist 421, as shown in FIG. 20B, is thus obtained.

Though the foregoing description illustrates the embedding of finetrenches and via holes with a plated film and the formation of bumps(protruding electrodes) composed of a plated film formed in resistopenings by the plating apparatus shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, it is alsopossible to use an electroplating apparatus having the constructionshown FIG. 11, in which two substrates W, each held by the substrateholder 14, are disposed opposite to each other in the plating tank 11,and the plating solution jet nozzles 16, mounted to the nozzlesupporting belt 31, are disposed opposite the substrates.

FIG. 21 shows an overall layout of a plating facility having a platingapparatus according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.The plating facility is designed so as to automatically perform all theplating processes including pre-processing of a substrate, plating, andpost-plating processing, in a successive manner. The interior of anapparatus frame 110, having an armored panel attached thereto, isdivided by a partition plate 112 into a plating space 116 for performinga plating process of a substrate and processings of the substrate towhich a plating solution is attached, and a clean space 114 forperforming other processes, i.e. processes not directly involving aplating solution. Two substrate holders 160 (see FIG. 22) are arrangedin parallel, and substrate attachment/detachment stages 162 to attach asubstrate to and detach a substrate from each substrate holder 160 areprovided as a substrate delivery section on a partition portionpartitioned by the partition plate 112, which divides the plating space116 from the clean space 114. Loading/unloading ports 120, on whichsubstrate cassettes housing substrates are mounted, are connected to theclean space 114. Further, the apparatus frame 110 has a console panel121 provided thereon.

In the clean space 114, there are disposed at four corners an aligner122 for aligning an orientation flat or a notch of a substrate with apredetermined direction, two cleaning/drying apparatuses 124 forcleaning a plated substrate and rotating the substrate at a high speedto spin-dry the substrate, and a pre-processing apparatus 126 forcarrying out a pre-processing of a substrate, e.g., according to thepresent embodiment, a rinsing pretreatment including injecting purewater toward a front face (surface to be plated) of a substrate tothereby clean the substrate surface with pure water and, at the sametime, wet the substrate surface with pure water so as to enhance ahydrophilicity of the substrate surface. Further, a first transportrobot 128 is disposed substantially at the center of these processingapparatus, i.e. the aligner 122, the cleaning/drying apparatuses 124,and the pre-processing apparatus 126, to thereby transfer and deliver asubstrate between the processing apparatuses 122, 124, and 126, thesubstrate attachment/detachment stages 162, and the substrate cassettesmounted on the loading/unloading ports 120.

The aligner 122, the cleaning/drying apparatuses 124, and thepre-processing apparatus 126 disposed in the clean space 114 aredesigned so as to hold and process a substrate in a horizontal state inwhich a front face of the substrate faces upward. The transport robot128 is designed so as to transfer and deliver a substrate in ahorizontal state in which a front face of the substrate faces upward.

In the plating space 116, in the order from the partition plate 112side, there are disposed a stocker 164 for storing or temporarilystoring the substrate holders 160, an activation treatment apparatus 166for etching, for example, an oxide film, having a large electricresistance, on a seed layer formed on a surface of a substrate with achemical liquid such as sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid to remove theoxide film, a first water-washing apparatus 168 a for water-washing thesurface of the substrate with pure water, a plating apparatus 170 forcarrying out plating, a second water-washing apparatus 168 b, and ablowing apparatus 172 for dewatering the plated substrate. Two secondtransport robots 174 a and 174 b are disposed beside these apparatusesso as to be movable along a rail 176. One of the second transport robots174 a transfers the substrate holders 160 between the substrateattachment/detachment stages 162 and the stocker 164. The other of thesecond transport robots 174 b transfers the substrate holders 160between the stocker 164, the activation treatment apparatus 166, thefirst water-washing apparatus 168 a, the plating apparatus 170, thesecond water-washing apparatus 168 b, and the blowing apparatus 172.

As shown in FIG. 22, each of the second transport robots 174 a and 174 bhas a body 178 extending in a vertical direction and an arm 180 which isvertically movable along the body 178 and rotatable about its axis. Thearm 180 has two substrate holder retaining portions 182 provided inparallel for detachably retaining the substrate holders 160. Thesubstrate holder 160 is designed so as to hold a substrate W in a statesuch that a front face of the substrate is exposed while a peripheralportion of the substrate is sealed, and to be capable of attaching thesubstrate W to the substrate holder 160 and detaching the substrate Wfrom the substrate holder 160.

The stocker 164, the activation treatment apparatus 166, thewater-washing apparatuses 168 a, 168 b, and the plating apparatus 170are designed so as to engage with outwardly projecting portions 160 aprovided at both ends of each substrate holder 160 to thus support thesubstrate holders 160 in a state such that the substrate holders 160 aresuspended in a vertical direction. The activation treatment apparatus166 has two activation treatment tanks 183 for holding a chemical liquidtherein. As shown in FIG. 22, the arm 180 of the second transport robot174 b holding the substrate holders 160, which are loaded with thesubstrates W, in a vertical state is lowered so as to engage thesubstrate holders 160 with upper ends of the activation treatment tanks183 to support the substrate holders 160 in a suspended manner. Thus,the activation treatment apparatus 166 is designed so that the substrateholders 160 are immersed together with the substrates W in the chemicalliquid in the activation treatment tanks 183 to carry out an activationtreatment.

Similarly, the water-washing apparatuses 168 a and 168 b have twowater-washing tanks 184 a and two water-washing tanks 184 b which holdpure water therein, respectively, and the plating apparatus 170 has aplurality of plating tanks 186 which hold a plating solution therein.The water-washing apparatuses 168 a, 168 b and the plating apparatus 170are designed so that the substrate holders 160 are immersed togetherwith the substrates W in the pure water in the water-washing tanks 184a, 184 b or the plating solution in the plating tanks 186 to carry outwater-washing treatment or plating in the same manner as describedabove. The arm 180 of the second transport robot 174 b holding thesubstrate holders 160 with substrates W in a vertical state is lowered,and air or inert gas is injected toward the substrates W mounted on thesubstrate holders 160 to blow away a liquid attached to the substrateholders 160 and the substrates W and to dewater the substrates W. Thus,the blowing apparatus 172 is designed so as to carry out blowingtreatment.

As shown in FIG. 23, each plating tank 186 of the plating apparatus 170is designed to hold a certain amount of plating solution 188. Thesubstrate W, held by the substrate holder 160 with its peripheralportion watertightly sealed and its front surface (surface to be plated)exposed, is to be immersed in the plating solution 188.

According to this embodiment, two plating solution discharge lines 190are connected to the bottom of the plating tank 186, as shown in FIG.24. Each plating solution discharge line 190 branches into two platingsolution supply lines 192. A pump 194, a flow rate meter 196 and a flowrate regulation valve 198 are provided in each plating solution supplyline 192. Further, one plating solution supply line 192, on its way fromthe pump 194 to the flow rate meter 196, branches into a return line 200connected to the bottom of the plating tank 186. A low rate regulationvalve 202 and a filter 204 are provided in the return line 200. Theplating tank 186, on its side, is provided with a plating solutioncirculation line 212 having a flow rate regulation valve 206, a pump 208and a chiller 210 interposed therein.

Thus, the plating solution 188 in the plating tank 186 circulates by theactuation of the pump 194 provided in each plating solution supply line192, and the flow rate of the plating solution 188 flowing along eachplating solution supply line 192 is regulated by the flow rateregulation valve 198. Part of the plating solution 188 is returnedthrough the filter 204 into the plating tank 186 via the return line200. Further, the plating solution 188 in the plating tank 186circulates by the actuation of the pump 208 provided in the platingsolution circulation line 212 and is cooled by the chiller 210 to apredetermined temperature.

As shown in FIG. 23, a disk-shaped anode 214, conforming to the shape ofthe substrate W, is held by an anode holder 216 and disposed verticallyin the plating tank 186. The anode 214, when filling the plating tank186 with the plating solution 188, is immersed in the plating solution188 and faces the substrate W held by the substrate holder 160 anddisposed in a predetermined position in the plating tank 186. Further,positioned between the anode 214 and the substrate holder 160 disposedin a predetermined position in the plating tank 186, a regulation plate218 having a central hole 218 a, composed of a dielectric material, forregulating the electric potential distribution in the plating tank 186is disposed in the plating tank 186.

Further, positioned between the regulation plate 218 and the substrateholder 160 disposed in a predetermined position in the plating tank 186,vertically-extending paddles 220, in the same numbers as the platingsolution supply lines 192 (i.e. four), are disposed at an even pitch inthe plating tank 186. The paddles 220 constitute a plating solutionstirring section. A paddle shaft 222, extending parallel to thesubstrate W held by the substrate holder 160 and reciprocatable in itsaxial direction, is disposed above the plating tank 186. The upper endsof the paddles (plating solution stirring section) 220 are coupled tothe paddle shaft 222.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 25, as the paddle shaft 222 reciprocates, thepaddles 220 reciprocate parallel to and in front of the substrate W heldby the substrate holder 160. The plating solution 188 in the platingtank 186 is thus stirred by reciprocating the paddles 220, and thestirring of the plating solution 188 in the plating tank 186 is stoppedby stopping the reciprocation of the paddles 220.

A number of plating solution jet nozzles 224, oriented toward thesubstrate W held by the substrate holder 160, are provided as a platingsolution stirring section in each paddle 220 at a given pitch along itslength direction. Each plating solution supply line 192 is individuallyconnected to the top of each paddle 220, and the plating solution supplyline 192 communicates with the plating solution jet nozzles (platingsolution stirring section) 224 via a flow passage formed within thepaddle 220.

Thus, by the actuation of the pump 194 provided in each plating solutionsupply line 192, the plating solution 188 flows along the platingsolution supply line 192, and jetted from the plating solution supplynozzles 224 toward the substrate W held by the substrate holder 160 andcirculates. The plating solution 188 in the plating tank 186 is thusstirred and circulated by jetting the plating solution 188 toward thesubstrate W, and the stirring of the plating solution 188 in the platingtank 186 is stopped by stopping the jetting of the plating solution 188.

The paddles 220 and the plating solution jet nozzles 224 are preferablyformed of a dielectric resin material, such as PVC, PP, PEEK, PES,HT-PVC, PFA, PTFE, etc. This can prevent the electric field distributionin the plating tank 186 from being disturbed by the presence of thepaddles 220 and the plating solution jet nozzles 224.

The plating apparatus 170 is provided with a plating power source 230,whose anode is connected via a conducting wire 228 a to the anode 214and whose cathode is connected via a conducting wire 228 b to thesubstrate W during plating. The plating power source 230 is connected toa control section 250 and, based on a signal from the control section250, applies a pulse voltage, as shown in FIG. 26, comprising aperiodical repetition of voltage V₁ and voltage 0 (stoppage of voltageapplication), between the anode 214 and the substrate W. In particular,after elapse of a predetermined time (t₁), voltage V₁ is applied betweenthe anode 214 and the substrate W for a predetermined time T₁, and theapplication of the voltage is stopped for a predetermined time T₂, whichprocedure is repeated periodically. The pulse width (time) T₁ of thevoltage V₁ is, for example, 10 to 160 seconds, preferably 20 to 120seconds, more preferably 40 to 80 seconds. The pulse width T₂ of voltage0 (voltage stop time) is, for example, 5 to 120 seconds, preferably 15to 100 seconds, more preferably 30 to 80 seconds.

The voltage V₁ applied between the substrate W and the anode 214 isgenerally such a voltage as to make the current density 0.1 to 0.8A/dm². It has been confirmed experimentally that plating at such arelatively low current density attains better embedding property. Thevoltage V₁ is preferably such a voltage as to make the current density0.2 to 0.6 A/dm² ₁ and more preferably such a voltage as to make thecurrent density 0.25 to 0.4 A/dm².

The control section 250 controls the movement of the paddles 220 as aplating solution stirring section and the jetting of the platingsolution from the plating solution jet nozzles 224 in synchronizationwith the periodical voltage application between the anode 214 and thesubstrate W. In particular, the paddles 220 are reciprocated and theplating solution 188 is jetted from the plating solution jet nozzles 224to stir the plating solution 188 during the time T₂ when no voltage isapplied between the substrate W and the anode 214. The reciprocation ofthe paddles 220 and the jetting of the plating solution 188 from theplating solution jet nozzles 224 are stopped during the time T₁ when thevoltage V₁ is applied between the substrate W and the anode 214, therebystopping the stirring of the plating solution 188.

By thus stirring the plating solution 188 in the non-plating time whenno voltage is applied between the substrate W and the anode 214, theplating solution in via holes or the like can be replaced with a freshplating solution. By stopping the stirring of the plating solution 188in the plating time when a voltage is applied between the substrate Wand the anode 214, on the other hand, plating can be carried out withoutsupply of a fresh plating solution to via holes or the like. This canprevent a metal film (plated film) from being deposited preferentiallyat the open ends of via holes or the like and can fill in via holes orthe like with a void-free metal film.

In the operation of the plating apparatus 170, the plating tank 186 isfirst filled with a predetermined amount of plating solution 188. Then,the substrate holder 160 holding a substrate W is lowered to place thesubstrate W in a predetermined position in the plating tank 186 wherethe substrate W is immersed in the plating solution 188. Thereafter, thepumps 194 of the plating solution supply lines 192 are actuated to jetthe plating solution 188 from the plating solution jet nozzles 224toward the surface of the substrate W, thereby circulating the platingsolution 188 within the plating tank 186. At the same time, the paddles220 are reciprocated by the paddle shaft 222. Further, if necessary, thepump 208 of the plating solution circulation line 212 is actuated tocirculate the plating solution 188 within the plating tank 186 whilecooling the plating solution 188 to keep it at a predeterminedtemperature.

After elapse of a predetermined time, a pulse voltage comprising aperiodical repetition of voltage V₁ and voltage 0 (stoppage of voltageapplication) is applied between the anode 214 and the substrate W,thereby repeating plating with the application of voltage V₁ between theanode 214 and the substrate and stoppage of plating without applicationof a voltage. In synchronization with the pulse voltage application, thepaddles 220 are reciprocated and the plating solution 188 is jetted fromthe plating solution jet nozzles 224 toward the substrate W to stir theplating solution 188 in the non-plating time when no voltage is appliedbetween the substrate W and the anode 214, whereas the reciprocation ofthe paddles 220 and the jetting of the plating solution 188 from theplating solution jet nozzles 224 are stopped to stop the stirring of theplating solution 188 in the plating time when the voltage V₁ is appliedbetween the substrate W and the anode 214.

After elapse of a predetermined period of time, the periodical voltageapplication between the anode 214 and the substrate W is stopped, andthe reciprocation of the paddles 220 and the jetting of the platingsolution 188 from the plating solution jet nozzles 224 are stopped toterminate the plating.

A series of plating processes for the formation of copper interconnectsby the plating facility thus constructed will be described below withreference to FIGS. 18A through 18C. First, a substrate W shown in FIG.18A is prepared. Substrates W thus prepared are housed in a substratecassette in a state such that front faces (surfaces to be plated) of thesubstrates W face upward. The substrate cassette is mounted on theloading/unloading port 120.

One of the substrates W is taken out of the substrate cassette mountedon the loading/unloading port 120 by the first transport robot 128 andplaced on the aligner 122 to align an orientation flat or a notch of thesubstrate with a predetermined direction. The substrate W thus alignedby the aligner 122 is transferred to the pre-processing apparatus 126 bythe first transport robot 128. In the pre-processing apparatus 126, apre-processing (water-washing pretreatment) using pure water as apre-processing liquid is carried out. On the other hand, two substrateholders 160, which have been stored in a vertical state in the stocker164, are taken out by the second transport robot 174 a, rotated through90° so that the substrate holders 160 are brought into a horizontalstate, and then placed in parallel on the substrateattachment/detachment stages 162.

Then, the substrates W, which have been subjected to the aforementionedpre-processing (water-washing pretreatment), are loaded into thesubstrate holders 160 placed on the substrate attachment/detachmentstages 162 in a state such that peripheral portions of the substrates Ware sealed. The two substrate holders 160, which have been loaded withthe substrates W, are simultaneously retained, lifted, and thentransferred to the stocker 164 by the second transport robot 174 a. Thesubstrate holders 160 are rotated through 90° into a vertical state andlowered so that the two substrate holders 160 are held (temporarilystored) in the stocker 164 in a suspended manner. The above operation iscarried out repeatedly in a sequential manner, so that substrates aresequentially loaded into the substrate holders 160, which have beenstored in the stocker 164, and the substrate holders 160 aresequentially held (temporarily stored) in the stocker 164 atpredetermined positions in a suspended manner.

On the other hand, the two substrate holders 160, which have been loadedwith the substrates and temporarily stored in the stocker 164, aresimultaneously retained, lifted, and then transferred to the activationtreatment apparatus 166 by the second transport robot 174 b. Eachsubstrate is immersed in a chemical liquid, such as sulfuric acid orhydrochloric acid, held in the activation treatment tank 183 to therebyetch an oxide film, having a large electric resistance, formed on thesurface of the seed layer so as to expose a clean metal surface. Thesubstrate holders 160, which have been loaded with the substrates, aretransferred to the first water-washing apparatus 168 a in the samemanner as described above to water-wash the surfaces of the substrateswith pure water held in the water-washing tanks 184 a.

The substrate holders 160, which have been loaded with the water-washedsubstrates, are transferred to the plating apparatus 170 in the samemanner as described above. Each substrate W is supported in a suspendedmanner by the plating tank 186 in a state such that the substrate W isimmersed in the plating solution 188 held in the plating tank 186 tothus carry out plating on the surface of the substrate W. After apredetermined period of time has elapsed, the substrate holders 160,which have been loaded with the substrates, are retained again andpulled up from the plating tank 186 by the second transport robot 174 b.Thus, the plating process is completed.

Thereafter, the substrate holders 160 are transferred to the secondwater-washing apparatus 168 b in the same manner as described above. Thesubstrate holders 160 are immersed in pure water in the water-washingtanks 184 b to clean the surfaces of the substrates with pure water.Then, the substrate holders 160, which have been loaded with thesubstrates, are transferred to the blowing apparatus 172 in the samemanner as described above. In the blowing apparatus 172, inert gas orair is injected toward the substrates to blow away a plating solutionand water droplets attached to the substrate holders 160. Thereafter,the substrate holders 160, which have been loaded with the substrates,are returned to predetermined positions in the stocker 164 and held in asuspended state in the same manner as described above.

The second transport robot 174 b sequentially performs the aboveoperation repeatedly so that the substrate holders 160, which have beenloaded with the plated substrates, are sequentially returned topredetermined positions in the stocker 164 and held in a suspendedmanner.

On the other hand, the two substrate holders 160, which have been loadedwith the plated substrates and returned to the stocker 164, aresimultaneously retained and placed on the substrateattachment/detachment stages 162 by the second transport robot 174 a inthe same manner as described above.

The first transport robot 128, disposed in the clean space 114, takesthe substrate out of the substrate holders 160, placed on the substrateattachment/detachment stages 162, and transfers the substrate to eitherone of the cleaning/drying apparatuses 124. In the cleaning/dryingapparatus 124, the substrate held in a horizontal state such that thefront face of the substrate faces upward is cleaned with pure water orthe like and rotated at a high speed to spin-dry the substrate.Thereafter, the substrate is then returned to the substrate cassettemounted on the loading/unloading port 120 by the first transport robot128. Thus, a series of plating processes is completed. The substrate Win which copper has been embedded in the via holes 3 and the trenches 4and the copper layer 7 has been deposited on the insulating film 2, asshown in FIG. 18B, is thus obtained.

The spin-dried substrate W, as described above, is then transferred to achemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus, where the copper layer 7,seed layer 6 and the barrier layer 5 on the insulating film 2 areremoved by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) so as to make the surfaceof the copper layer 7 filled in the via holes 3 and the trenches 4 andthe surface of the insulating film 2 lie substantially on the sameplane. Interconnects 8 composed of the copper layer 7 and the seed layer6 are thus formed, as shown in FIG. 18C, and the exposed surfaces ofinterconnects 8 are protected by the protective film 9, as necessary.

A process for producing an interposer or a spacer havingvertically-penetrating via plugs of copper will now be described withreference to FIGS. 27A through 27D. A substrate W, as shown in 27A, isprovided which has been prepared by depositing an insulating film 512 ofe.g. SiO₂ on a surface of a base 510 of silicon or the like, and formingupwardly-open via holes 514 in the insulating film 512 by, for example,the lithography/etching technique. The diameter d of the via holes 514is, for example, 10 to 20 μm and the depth h is, for example, 70 to 150μm. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 27B, a barrier layer 516 of TaN or thelike and a (copper) seed layer 518, which serves as an electric supplylayer in electroplating, are formed in this order over the surface ofthe substrate W by, for example, sputtering.

Thereafter, copper plating of the surface of the substrate W is carriedout in the above-described manner to fill in the via holes 514 of thesubstrate W with copper (plated film) and deposit a copper film 520 onthe surface of the insulating film 512, as shown in FIG. 27C.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 27D, the extra copper film 520 on theinsulating film 512, the seed layer 518 and the barrier layer 516 areremoved while, at the same time, the back surface side of the base 510is polished away until the bottom of the copper filled in the via holes514 becomes exposed by, for example, chemical mechanical polishing(CMP), thereby completing the production of an interposer or a spacerhaving the vertically-penetrating via plugs 522 of copper.

It has been confirmed that even via holes having a high aspect ratio anda large depth, such as those having a diameter d of 10 to 20 μm anddepth h of 70 to 150 μm, can be filled in with copper (plated film) in,for example, about 5 hours without the formation of defects, such asvoids, by carrying out copper plating using the plating apparatus of thepresent invention.

According to this embodiment, transfer of a substrate in the platingspace 116 is carried out by the second transport robots 174 a, 174 bdisposed in the plating space 116, and transfer of a substrate in theclean space 114 is carried out by the first transport robot 128 disposedin the clean space 114. This can improve the cleanness around asubstrate in the plating processing apparatus which sequentially carriesout all the plating steps of pre-processings, plating and post-platingprocessings of a substrate, can increase the throughput of the platingprocessing apparatus, and can reduce the burden on facilities associatedwith the plating processing apparatus, leading to downsizing of theplating processing apparatus.

Further, the use in the plating apparatus 170 of the plating tank 186 ofa small footprint according to this embodiment makes it possible todownsize the plating apparatus 170 having the large number of platingtanks 186 and to reduce the burden on incidental facilities of theplant. Turning back to FIG. 21, one of the two cleaning/dryingapparatuses 124 may be replaced with a pre-processing apparatus.

FIG. 28 shows a plating apparatus according to yet another embodiment ofthe present invention. This plating apparatus uses paddles 220 having noplating solution jet nozzle. Such facilities as a plating solutionsupply line, which will be needed in association with provision of aplating solution jet nozzle, are therefore not provided. The otherconstruction is the same as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 23 through 25.This embodiment can thus simplify the construction.

According to the present invention, a metal film (plated film) can beprevented from preferentially depositing at the open ends of via holesor the like. Thus, it becomes possible with the present invention tosecurely fill in via holes with a metal film without the formation ofvoids in the embedded metal film even when the via holes or the likehave a high aspect ratio and a large depth.

While the present invention has been described with reference to theembodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat the present invention is not limited to the particular embodimentsdescribed, but changes could be made therein within the technicalconcept of the present invention.

1. A plating apparatus comprising: a plating tank for holding a platingsolution; a plating solution jet nozzle having a slit-like platingsolution jet orifice for jetting the plating solution toward a surfaceto be plated of an object to be plated disposed in the plating tank; anda plating solution supply section for supplying the plating solution tothe plating solution jet nozzle.
 2. The plating apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein a plurality of the plating solution jet nozzles isdisposed in parallel with each other in the plating tank.
 3. The platingapparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a flow ratedistribution section for distributing the flow rate of the platingsolution to the plurality of plating solution jet nozzles inconsideration of the flow conductance of the plating solution.
 4. Theplating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a nozzlemovement mechanism for moving the plating solution jet nozzle parallelto the surface to be plated of the object to be plated.
 5. The platingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plating apparatus furthercomprises a flow rate control section for controlling the flow rate ofthe plating solution jetted from the plating solution jet orifice, andthe plating solution jet orifice has a width of 0.05 to 1.0 mm.
 6. Theplating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the velocity of theplating solution, jetted from the plating solution jet orifice of theplating solution jet nozzle, is 5 to 20 m/sec in the vicinity of theplating solution jet orifice.
 7. The plating apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising a flow rate monitor section for monitoringthe flow rate of the plating solution jetted from the plating solutionjet orifice and/or a pressure monitor section for monitoring thepressure in the plating solution jet nozzle.
 8. The plating apparatusaccording to claim 1 further comprising; a flow rate sensor fordetecting the flow rate of the plating solution jetted from the platingsolution jet orifice and/or a pressure sensor for detecting the pressurein the plating solution jet nozzle; and a plating solution flow rateregulation section for regulating the flow rate of the plating solutionby feeding back a detection signal of the flow rate sensor and/or thepressure sensor to the plating solution supply section.
 9. The platingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the frontend of the plating solution jet orifice and the object to be plated is 1to 30 mm.
 10. The plating apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising an anode disposed between the plating solution jet nozzle andthe object to be plated.
 11. The plating apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising an anode disposed in the plating solution jet nozzle.12. The plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the platingsolution supply section includes a pump for feeding out the platingsolution discharged from the plating tank, and a plating solution supplypipe connecting the pump with the plating solution jet nozzle, and atleast part of the plating solution supply pipe is formed of a flexiblematerial so that it can follow a movement of the plating solution jetnozzle.
 13. A plating method comprising: disposing an object to beplated and a plating solution jet nozzle having a slit-like platingsolution jet orifice opposite to each other in a plating solution in aplating tank; and jetting the plating solution from the plating solutionjet orifice while moving the plating solution jet nozzle parallel to asurface to be plated of the object to be plated.
 14. A plating apparatuscomprising: a plating tank for holding a plating solution; a holder forholding an object to be plated, feeding electricity to the object to beplated, and bringing a surface to be plated of the object to be platedinto contact with the plating solution in the plating tank; an anodedisposed in the plating solution in the plating tank; a plating solutionstirring section, disposed between the anode and the object to be platedheld by the holder, for stirring the plating solution in the platingtank; and a plating power source for periodically applying a voltagebetween the object to be plated and the anode; wherein the platingsolution is stirred by the plating solution stirring section when novoltage is applied between the object to be plated and the anode,whereas the stirring of the plating solution by the plating solutionstirring section is stopped when the voltage is applied between theobject to be plated and the anode.
 15. The plating apparatus accordingto claim 14, wherein the plating solution stirring section is comprisedof a paddle which reciprocates parallel to the surface to be plated ofthe object to be plated held by the holder.
 16. The plating apparatusaccording to claim 14, wherein the plating solution stirring section iscomprised of a plating solution jet nozzle for jetting the platingsolution toward the surface to be plated of the object to be plated heldby the holder.
 17. The plating apparatus according to claim 14, whereinthe voltage is applied between the object to be plated and the anode sothat the current density becomes 0.1 to 0.8 A/dm².
 18. A plating methodcomprising: disposing an object to be plated and an anode opposite toeach other in a plating solution in a plating tank; periodicallyapplying a voltage between the object to be plated and the anode; andstirring the plating solution between the object to be plated and theanode when no voltage is applied between the object to be plated and theanode, and stopping the stirring of the plating solution between theobject to be plated and the anode when the voltage is applied betweenthe object to be plated and the anode.
 19. The plating method accordingto claim 18, wherein the plating solution is stirred by reciprocating apaddle, disposed between the object to be plated and the anode, parallelto the object to be plated, and the stirring of the plating solution isstopped by stopping the movement of the paddle.
 20. The plating methodaccording to claim 18, wherein the plating solution is stirred byjetting the plating solution from a plating solution jet nozzle,disposed between the object to be plated and the anode, toward theobject to be plated, and the stirring of the plating solution is stoppedby stopping the jetting of the plating solution from the platingsolution jet nozzle.
 21. The plating method according to claim 18,wherein the voltage is applied between the object to be plated and theanode so that the current density becomes 0.1 to 0.8 A/dm².